The special council meeting on Tuesday, called to discuss re-opening the borough's closed public toilets, astonished those in the packed public gallery with a display of procedural moves designed to prevent the issues being discussed or any solutions found.
A proposal from Epsom & Ewell's Liberal Democrat councillors that the borough should join Tourism South East (TSE) has been successful. Cllr Anna Jones is delighted that her proposal, which had first been discussed by the Environment Committee, then the whole Council and then the Leisure Committee, has now received broad support.
Despite a council report suggesting that four disabled bays in the Town Hall car park could be returned for general use, the Environment Committee decided to review occupancy again in March 2011.
In response to complaints from residents who use Epsom Station, the council has promised to look into opening Hook Road car park at 6.30am instead of 7.00am.
Stories suggesting all Surrey schools were on their way to becoming Academies appeared in national newspapers on 30th September. This was fortunate for local MP Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, as the Conservative party conference was due to start three days later, and even here in his home county of Surrey just one school was ready to become an Academy.
Lib Dem County Councillors Stephen Cooksey and David Goodwin have worked for some months as part of a small Council Task Group established to make recommendations about improving the chaotic arrangements that the County had in place when the heavy snow fell last winter. Many of the recommendations of the Group have been accepted by the Cabinet, which agreed to provide an additional £1 million to improve the service in the coming winter.
Claims by Surrey County Council's Conservative administration that they will "invest up to £10m to support the response to flooding" have been criticised as "propaganda that muddies the water rather than giving hope to residents and businesses", according to the Liberal Democrats at County Hall.
Surrey County Council's Liberal Democrats are opposing the County's Conservative administration's budget at tomorrow's Council meeting as it is "half baked and unrealistic".
Local Liberal Democrat Euro MP, Catherine Bearder, has written to the chief executive of Surrey County Council, David McNulty, to encourage him to apply for EU funding to help rebuild and develop flood defences in Surrey.
Members of Surrey County Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee were stunned today when the Conservative Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care announced that £19 million of savings in the budget for 2014/15 being discussed at the meeting of the Conservative Cabinet next week "will not be achieved". The savings are planned in the budget by switching care to "social capital" under the Friends, Family and Community Support programme.
Liberal Democrats are calling for a fair deal for Surrey, with more local decision making on funding and less central government control. Surrey should be allowed to keep a fairer share of the money generated within the county.
Councillor Hazel Watson (Dorking Hills), the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Opposition on Surrey County Council, has welcomed a number of Surrey County Council Cabinet's decisions about major cycling events and day to day cycling sportives in Surrey, but has expressed disappointment and concern over plans for Dorking and Westcott.
